Emigration: Two million quit Britain in 'talent drain'

Two million people of working age have left Britain over the last decade in a
“drain of talent” that is damaging the economy and forcing employers to rely
on immigrant workers, a senior Conservative has warned.

Are you a professional who has emigrated or is thinking about emigrating from the UK? Email us to let us know where, and why: mynews@telegraph.co.uk

Writing for telegraph.co.uk, Mr de Bois warned that the current political focus on cutting immigration has meant not enough attention is paid to the impact of emigration.

“Lost in the debate is the enormous damage being done to our economy by migration from the UK,” he said.

Ministers must do more to persuade high-achieving, highly-mobile workers that Britain remains the best place in the world to work and prosper, he said.

“Work needs to begin on keeping people here and not relying on importing others to fill the gap,” he said.

Many of those who are leaving are going to work for foreign-based pharmaceutical, aerospace, engineering and creative companies, Mr de Bois said.

He added: “Questions have to be asked as to why, even in a truly global economy where labour markets are relatively open, we here in the UK cannot hold onto our own home-grown, home-educated talent.”

Research for the Home Office last year found that almost half of all Britons who emigrate each year are professionals and company managers.

Some business leaders have blamed Britain’s tax regime for encouraging skilled professionals and executives to leave.

Mr de Bois said tax does play a part in emigration, but suggested that culture is a more important factor, warning that Britain should encourage people to succeed and get rich, not criticise them.

“Government must help lead a culture change in this country that competes with the new economies, one where competitiveness and success are valued and personal achievement and personal wealth are respected, not pilloried,” he said.

“The language that Government uses will be as important as the policies it presents to compete with the lure of other countries who are attracting some of our country’s best home-grown talent.”

The MP’s warning is the latest suggestion that Britain is suffering a “brain drain” and losing out in the global competition for highly-educated workers.

Official figures in November revealed that thousands of British graduates from the best UK universities are choosing to work abroad.

Almost one in 10 British graduates from institutions such as Cambridge, Durham, Exeter and Oxford who found jobs in 2011 were working overseas.